Letter to George (For Dubious, Foodfight, and others...)

[JDFP]

Dear Uncle George:

I used to love your films, but recently it has come to my attention that the most detailed bits of information in your films that is inconveniently missing is keeping me from truly appreciating them, and thus, I must write in protest that this important information was not included in your films. Here are three of my most major concerns, covering the three films from the trilogy, respectively:

For # 1 -- I think it is absolutely unacceptable that Johnny and Barbara's backstory of where they were driving from in "NOTLD" is never established. This is an essential and important element of the film and it is unacceptable that it is not included therewithin as a statement. A detailed explanation would be acceptable, a statement in passing would be acceptable, but the uncertainty is certainly not acceptable.

# 2 -- I feel that the backstory of Dr. Rausch was never properly developed and detailed. Why is he wearing the eye-patch? Every time I see this film I find myself puzzled as to where the eye-patch came from and if he was truly injured (perhaps in Vietnam being the film was set in 1978?) or whether he wears this patch for decorative purposes only to attract women along with his Mr. Belvedere-like beard. A detailed explanation would be acceptable, a statement in passing would be acceptable, but the uncertainty is certainly not acceptable.

# 3 -- It is never stated how Major Cooper passed away. I find this completely distracting to the enjoyment of the rest of the film. Without knowing how Major Cooper came to pass, how are we expected to truly accept the situation that is set up in the film by his passing? Was his death due to illness or was it planned by others to appear to be "accidental" but, in fact, not? A detailed explanation would be acceptable, a statement in passing would be acceptable, but the uncertainty is certainly not acceptable.

I must apologize, Uncle George, but I can no longer bring myself to watch these films without having the knowledge of these important, dare I say essential, details. The movies are just not as entertaining as they used to be before I felt compelled to understand and divulge into the history of these fictional movies.

On a side note, could I have my girlfriend back?

Your former # 1 fan,

J.P.

[capncnut]

You know someone is gonna give you some shit for this right? :D


I think it is absolutely unacceptable that Johnny and Barbara's backstory of where they were driving from in "NOTLD" is never established.
Johnny (twenty-six) and Barbra (nineteen) were driving from their sick old mother's home in an unspecified area two hundred miles away to put some flowers on their fathers grave.


I feel that the backstory of Dr. Rausch was never properly developed and detailed. Why is he wearing the eye-patch?
Perhaps that is because he is a character in a television screen. It would be a little odd, while addressing the nation on how to survive the crisis, he suddenly stated, "oh, and by the way, I lost my eye in a fishing accident."


It is never stated how Major Cooper passed away. I find this completely distracting to the enjoyment of the rest of the film.
Looking at the size of Major Cooper's body, one can only assume it was gout or food poisoning. ;)

[ProfessorChaos]

Perhaps that is because he is a character in a television screen. It would be a little odd, while addressing the nation on how to survive the crisis, he suddenly stated, "oh, and by the way, I lost my eye in a fishing accident."

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h145/Twista6002/i-lol-d.jpg

[MoonSylver]

# 2 -- I feel that the backstory of Dr. Rausch was never properly developed and detailed. Why is he wearing the eye-patch? Every time I see this film I find myself puzzled as to where the eye-patch came from and if he was truly injured (perhaps in Vietnam being the film was set in 1978?) or whether he wears this patch for decorative purposes only to attract women along with his Mr. Belvedere-like beard. A detailed explanation would be acceptable, a statement in passing would be acceptable, but the uncertainty is certainly not acceptable.

He lost it in a Stooge-related eye gouging incident.


You know someone is gonna give you some shit for this right? :D

Really?!?!:rockbrow:

( :p;) )

[Andy]

Perhaps that is because he is a character in a television screen. It would be a little odd, while addressing the nation on how to survive the crisis, he suddenly stated, "oh, and by the way, I lost my eye in a fishing accident."

Or in the middle of his address he could of looked directly into the camera and said "by the way kids, when your granpa says 'youll have someones eye out with that' LISTEN TO HIM!"

[DubiousComforts]

Dear Uncle George:
George Romero is your uncle?

If so, why would you need to communicate with him in a public forum? Just pick up the phone.

[rongravy]

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h145/Twista6002/i-lol-d.jpg

I peed. A little.

[Andy]

The cat picture was better..

[jded]

I know there was never an explanation for the eye patch, but George stated in, I believe it was the Crazies commentary that the character Dr. Watts was too close to the character of Dr. Rausch in Dawn, therefore disguising would not cause confusion since Watts died in the school riot.


As for Major Cooper I say Rhodes got into it with him over a control issue and things got out of hand causing a heart attack.
Or possibly Frankenstein was too lenient with Bub at first, and Bub got ahold of Cooper.
Logan did feed Cooper to Bub so maybe Logan had it in for Cooper.
Either way, Bub got rid of the evidence. Almost...

[Danny]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/khazrak/SpaceGhostCoffee.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/khazrak/1245303532367.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/khazrak/SpaceGhostCoffee.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/khazrak/1245303532367.jpg

[triste realtà]

Vagueness is essential. Can't you get that through your thick skull?

[ProfessorChaos]

The cat picture was better..

yeah, i thought about leaving that one up...

i see this de-volving into another "i'm new here" thread.....:lol:

so let's all unleash some crazy theories about the romero films. like what's the back story with charlie from land of the dead and his burns? i bet he was a fetish freak who used to love to masturbate with a sparkler inserted into his urethra and also had a thing for huffing gasoline....and then one day after getting a little too loopy...
http://www.filmdope.com/Gallery/ActorsJ/8992-26600.gif
"just look at me...you can tell i have terrible nightmares."

[JDFP]

I've got $10 bucks on the back of Harry Cooper's car having this on it:

http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1973/Wills/Nixon_Bumper_Sticker_small.jpg

Of course, it begs the question, what the hell was Harry Cooper doing out in the middle of the country-side of rural PA on a Sunday with his wife and daughter dressed head-to-toe? They didn't seem like the type that would be going to church at a rural Baptist church out there somewhere...

j.p.

[krakenslayer]

Of course, it begs the question, what the hell was Harry Cooper doing out in the middle of the country-side of rural PA on a Sunday with his wife and daughter dressed head-to-toe? They didn't seem like the type that would be going to church at a rural Baptist church out there somewhere...

j.p.

In my imagination:

Harry Cooper works as a supervisor in a bank. For years, he's had his eye on a promotion to branch manager, he sees it as his due because he's been working with the bank for fifteen/twenty years and thinks he deserves some power and recognition for once, thank you very much. However he keeps getting passed up for promotion in favour of younger, driven career men including, recently, an up-and-coming, youthful Black man.

Inside, the situation causes him to seethe with frustration. He thinks of it as a humiliating sign of his own inadequacy, particularly (so he thinks) in the eyes of his once-trophy wife Helen, who is ten years his junior. Helen comes originally comes from a wealthy family, her father has disapproved of Harry ever since he first laid eyes on him, calling him a "nobody with no future". Harry perceives his inability to progress along his chosen career path as confirming the old man's words. Harry's intense desire to prove himself and impress Helen and her father has, via years of crushing frustration, developed into a deep resentment towards his wife and her family. The marriage has long since degenerated into a loveless, bickering sham - and were it not for the unexpected (and inconvenient) arrival of a daughter, Karen - they would have long since gone their separate ways.

However, two days ago, the first glint of light in many years appears on Harry's horizon. Following a local newspaper scandal involving a fifteen-year-old prostitute and a cheap motel room, the "dynamic" young manager of a branch adjacent to Harry's has been forced to resign. The next day, Harry gets a phone call asking him and his family to dinner at the Regional Manager's country villa. This has never happened before. A blinding beam of hope, hot from heaven, illuminates Harry's soul.

A miracle, just when he thought it was no longer possible. He sees himself wielding power, he sees money, he sees respect, he sees himself rubbing the faces of all those who doubted him in the dirt. Everything in his humble dreams (and they were humble, surely not too much to ask for, he thinks). He sees himself leaving his self-destructive hated behind and piecing together the broken fragments of his marriage and life. Glory be to Harry!

"This must be perfect," he tells first himself and then his wife. For one night they must hide the shattered surface of their family life behind a porcelain facade of nuclear domestic bliss. Darling wife all dressed up - sexy enough to attract the boss's affections (Harry, and all of his colleagues, know the way to his boss's heart: through his other head), but demure enough to maintain the respectable air expected of a bank manager-to-be's wife. Darling daughter in her Sunday best, briefed to talk about her straight-As and under no circumstances bring up the story about when her dad smashed the driver's window of their car only to discover he had his keys in his pocket the whole time (and how red was his face!). And Dearest Harry, with a smart suit, pre-prepared conversation and a proud smile. Perfect. They set out in the car...

...and all hell breaks loose. Harry sees his last shot at life disappear before him in a sea of clutching arms, gnashing teeth, broken glass and miles of muddy fields. And suddenly that old resentment, that familiar crawling wave of frustration, rises inside him once again, stronger than ever before...

And that is how Harry and Helen and Karen came to be at the farmhouse in their Sunday finest. :D

[deadpunk]

I used to love your films, but recently it has come to my attention that the most detailed bits of information in your films that is inconveniently missing is keeping me from truly appreciating them, and thus, I must write in protest that this important information was not included in your films. Here are three of my most major concerns, covering the three films from the trilogy, respectively:

Despite the claims from most posters here that these films are huge...no, monstrous even, satires/commentary of society, civilization, etc, etc, etc, yawn... The reality is that these are horror films. I find them to be entertaining, at best. To be honest, I find the over-analysis of these films to be both tiresome and (yep, gonna toss it out there) pathetic.



For # 1 -- I think it is absolutely unacceptable that Johnny and Barbara's backstory of where they were driving from in "NOTLD" is never established. This is an essential and important element of the film and it is unacceptable that it is not included therewithin as a statement. A detailed explanation would be acceptable, a statement in passing would be acceptable, but the uncertainty is certainly not acceptable.


I fail to see how the location that Johnny and Barbara are driving in from to be in any way, shape, or form pertinent to the story at hand. If they just flew in from Timbuk-fucking-tu and the dead rose, would it change anything? Anyone...anyone...Bueller?

Nah-uh.



# 2 -- I feel that the backstory of Dr. Rausch was never properly developed and detailed. Why is he wearing the eye-patch? Every time I see this film I find myself puzzled as to where the eye-patch came from and if he was truly injured (perhaps in Vietnam being the film was set in 1978?) or whether he wears this patch for decorative purposes only to attract women along with his Mr. Belvedere-like beard. A detailed explanation would be acceptable, a statement in passing would be acceptable, but the uncertainty is certainly not acceptable.


If this is actually the concern that keeps anyone from enjoying Dawn to 100% capacity, I'm going to have to utilize the word pathetic...again.




# 3 -- It is never stated how Major Cooper passed away. I find this completely distracting to the enjoyment of the rest of the film. Without knowing how Major Cooper came to pass, how are we expected to truly accept the situation that is set up in the film by his passing? Was his death due to illness or was it planned by others to appear to be "accidental" but, in fact, not? A detailed explanation would be acceptable, a statement in passing would be acceptable, but the uncertainty is certainly not acceptable.


Again, I fail to see the importance of this fact. Dude got hit by a train, dude had a heart attack, dude committed suicide, dude contracted a mysterious VD fornicating with the compound livestock... Um, dude is dead no matter what. While it is his passing that sets up the circumstances of the movie, the death of the character is only a plot device and the how is of no real consequence.



I must apologize, Uncle George, but I can no longer bring myself to watch these films without having the knowledge of these important, dare I say essential, details. The movies are just not as entertaining as they used to be before I felt compelled to understand and divulge into the history of these fictional movies.

Take a break from the movies, go watch some crappy zombie-wanna-be fodder and come back to the real deal. I promise you'll be gladly entertained again. :rolleyes:

[mista_mo]

Yo Deadpunk, I think he is being Sarcastic, and poking fun at how some of the members here over react and over analysis shit in these films that is really of no importance whatsoever.

[capncnut]

In my imagination...
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/culturevulture/archives/kylie3.jpg
"...there is no complication." :D


dude contracted a mysterious VD fornicating with the compound livestock
The best explanation thus far!


Yo Deadpunk, I think he is being Sarcastic, and poking fun at how some of the members here over react and over analysis shit in these films that is really of no importance whatsoever.
Yup, I get that impression also. And who can blame JD for wanting a little fun? There are some ridiculous threads blowing around this forum at the moment.

[bassman]

There are some ridiculous threads blowing around this forum at the moment.

I think philly gets the award for the best, though. That baseball schedule in Dawn thing had me in stitches.

[FoodFight]

deadpunk, deadpunk, deadpunk. You've obviously never heard of reductio ad adsurdum. Shave off the mohawk and pick a book sometime!:lol:

[AcesandEights]

I think philly gets the award for the best, though. That baseball schedule in Dawn thing had me in stitches.

I like the points Philly comes up with and the discussions he fosters with his observations, though. Of course, sometimes I think the theories brewed up are a bit out there, but it's fun.

[DubiousComforts]

poking fun at how some of the members here over react and over analysis shit in these films that is really of no importance whatsoever.
Why are you posting here when you could be contributing to the enlightening discussion about the size of the bullet hole in Ben's forehead?

[capncnut]

Why are you posting here when you could be contributing to the enlightening discussion about the size of the bullet hole in Ben's forehead?
Wasn't it two centimeteres across?

[krakenslayer]

Wasn't it two centimeteres across?

No, it was six inches across. You see, he was shot with one of those exploding gas bullets from Live and Let Die, which caused his head to expand just like Yaphet Kotto, so the massive bullet hole looks small in context. True story. :D

[capncnut]

Live and Let Die
Kfghkfghfjhfhfj... now I have to watch that, too.

[krakenslayer]

Kfghkfghfjhfhfj... now I have to watch that, too.

Bwahahaha...

Seem every time I mention a movie... hmm... let me be really evil and try something:

BATTLEFIELD EARTH! :lol:

[darth los]

I like the points Philly comes up with and the discussions he fosters with his observations, though. Of course, sometimes I think the theories brewed up are a bit out there, but it's fun.


I agree 100%. I miss the endless debate threads.

Also, jokes are fine, just keep it in the lounge where it belongs.

:cool:

[Philly_SWAT]

I think philly gets the award for the best, though. That baseball schedule in Dawn thing had me in stitches.
That was a football schedule.....


I like the points Philly comes up with and the discussions he fosters with his observations, though.
Thank you, nice to be appreciated!

[deadpunk]

deadpunk, deadpunk, deadpunk. You've obviously never heard of reductio ad adsurdum. Shave off the mohawk and pick a book sometime!:lol:

If you meant reductio ad absurdum, yes I have. And, don't let the mohawk fool you, I'm very well read. In fact, I write fairly well too, or so I'm told...;)

Apologies all around that I failed to sense the sarcasm involved in the thread (that quality is rather hard to convey on the internet). In rereading it...um, yeah...not even funny anyway, so go fuck yourselves. Just kidding. But, no, really...:D

[JDFP]

Apologies all around that I failed to sense the sarcasm involved in the thread (that quality is rather hard to convey on the internet). In rereading it...um, yeah...not even funny anyway, so go fuck yourselves. Just kidding. But, no, really...:D

I thought the sarcasm of my OP was fairly straight-forward. As far as not funny, I take offense to that, sir, my great wit and demure used to get me into bed with my ex-fiancee. Woman drove me to drink, and I never even had the decency to thank her.

My philosophy has always been the same that the great W.C. Fields said:
If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull. :D

j.p.

[deadpunk]

Would you believe then, that the beer made me do it, JP? :D ;)

[mista_mo]

I agree 100%. I miss the endless debate threads.

Also, jokes are fine, just keep it in the lounge where it belongs.

:cool:

But umm...that would look a little odd to see a letter directed towards George Romero..sitting in the lounge. If you and jdfp had travelled back in time, and switched souls and cleansed auras and all that, you'd have posted this same topic in the same forum. We all would've, as it adds to the joke by having it in a forum that feels appropriate.

Oh and DeadPunk, I am clean cut, but have a terrible sense of grammar and spelling, and am not that good of a writer, so appearances mean nothing....sometimes....

[JDFP]

In my imagination:

Harry Cooper works as a supervisor in a bank. For years, he's had his eye on a promotion to branch manager, he sees it as his due because he's been working with the bank for fifteen/twenty years and thinks he deserves some power and recognition for once, thank you very much. However he keeps getting passed up for promotion in favour of younger, driven career men including, recently, an up-and-coming, youthful Black man.

Inside, the situation causes him to seethe with frustration. He thinks of it as a humiliating sign of his own inadequacy, particularly (so he thinks) in the eyes of his once-trophy wife Helen, who is ten years his junior. Helen comes originally comes from a wealthy family, her father has disapproved of Harry ever since he first laid eyes on him, calling him a "nobody with no future". Harry perceives his inability to progress along his chosen career path as confirming the old man's words. Harry's intense desire to prove himself and impress Helen and her father has, via years of crushing frustration, developed into a deep resentment towards his wife and her family. The marriage has long since degenerated into a loveless, bickering sham - and were it not for the unexpected (and inconvenient) arrival of a daughter, Karen - they would have long since gone their separate ways.

However, two days ago, the first glint of light in many years appears on Harry's horizon. Following a local newspaper scandal involving a fifteen-year-old prostitute and a cheap motel room, the "dynamic" young manager of a branch adjacent to Harry's has been forced to resign. The next day, Harry gets a phone call asking him and his family to dinner at the Regional Manager's country villa. This has never happened before. A blinding beam of hope, hot from heaven, illuminates Harry's soul.

A miracle, just when he thought it was no longer possible. He sees himself wielding power, he sees money, he sees respect, he sees himself rubbing the faces of all those who doubted him in the dirt. Everything in his humble dreams (and they were humble, surely not too much to ask for, he thinks). He sees himself leaving his self-destructive hated behind and piecing together the broken fragments of his marriage and life. Glory be to Harry!

"This must be perfect," he tells first himself and then his wife. For one night they must hide the shattered surface of their family life behind a porcelain facade of nuclear domestic bliss. Darling wife all dressed up - sexy enough to attract the boss's affections (Harry, and all of his colleagues, know the way to his boss's heart: through his other head), but demure enough to maintain the respectable air expected of a bank manager-to-be's wife. Darling daughter in her Sunday best, briefed to talk about her straight-As and under no circumstances bring up the story about when her dad smashed the driver's window of their car only to discover he had his keys in his pocket the whole time (and how red was his face!). And Dearest Harry, with a smart suit, pre-prepared conversation and a proud smile. Perfect. They set out in the car...

...and all hell breaks loose. Harry sees his last shot at life disappear before him in a sea of clutching arms, gnashing teeth, broken glass and miles of muddy fields. And suddenly that old resentment, that familiar crawling wave of frustration, rises inside him once again, stronger than ever before...

And that is how Harry and Helen and Karen came to be at the farmhouse in their Sunday finest. :D

Kraken,

Apologies for not responding sooner, but this is freaking brilliant.

I'm going to give you the "Excellence in Discussion" award for this, buddy, as it seems realistic and pretty damn good of a theory to me. I haven't heard any others that really make me think and contemplate like this, so I'm going +2 for it.

Very groovy stuff...

j.p.

[Philly_SWAT]

My apologies as well kracken, it is indeed brilliant.

If the older system was still in place, I would give you some rep! :)

[FoodFight]

Despite the claims from most posters here that these films are huge...no, monstrous even, satires/commentary of society, civilization, etc, etc, etc, yawn... The reality is that these are horror films. I find them to be entertaining, at best. To be honest, I find the over-analysis of these films to be both tiresome and (yep, gonna toss it out there) pathetic.

You still don't think that there is some sort of message that Romero is trying to convey? Ignoring that is on the level of skinheads, which prompted my quote regarding the shave.


If you meant reductio ad absurdum, yes I have. And, don't let the mohawk fool you, I'm very well read. In fact, I write fairly well too, or so I'm told

Good catch on the typo. With that attention to detail I'd expect you to catch on to the tongue in cheek tone in threads in question. But that's just me.


Apologies all around that I failed to sense the sarcasm involved in the thread (that quality is rather hard to convey on the internet). In rereading it...um, yeah...not even funny anyway, so go fuck yourselves. Just kidding. But, no, really...:D

Right back atcha!

[krakenslayer]

Kraken,

Apologies for not responding sooner, but this is freaking brilliant.

I'm going to give you the "Excellence in Discussion" award for this, buddy, as it seems realistic and pretty damn good of a theory to me. I haven't heard any others that really make me think and contemplate like this, so I'm going +2 for it.

Very groovy stuff...

j.p.


My apologies as well kracken, it is indeed brilliant.

If the older system was still in place, I would give you some rep! :)

Haha, cheers guys! It started of as a two sentence outlining of a theory, and evolved over half-an-hour into a fairly detailed little story :D